Irwin Barker, one of Canada’s premiere stand-up comedians and comedy writers, has succumbed to cancer at age 54.

Most recently known for his work on The Rick Mercer Report, Barker got his start in Winnipeg in 1988. He began writing for TV with the series Point Blank in 2002 and also wrote for the Just for Laughs series that same year. He received two Gemini noms for his writing contributions on This Hour, for which he penned 31 eps between 2003 and 2007.

Barker also holds writing credits for the Winnipeg and Halifax Comedy Festivals between 2006 and 2009, but he wasn’t just known for his behind-the-scenes wit. The comedian appeared most recently on CBC’s The Hour this past January, as well as in several of the aforementioned comedy festivals and Comedy Night in Canada, to name only a few of his credits. Irwin was also part of a comedy team that traveled to Afghanistan to entertain the Canadian troops in 2007. The resulting special, Stand-up in Kandahar, was aired on the CBC.

Barker held a Master’s Degree in Sociology and taught at the Universities of Alberta and Manitoba.

The Comedy Network will be paying tribute, re-airing his one-hour Can’t Stop Laughing from 2008, as well as making it available on ww.thecomedynetwork.ca. In the stand-up special, Barker gathered host Mark Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and comics Sam Easton, Peter Kelamis, Shaun Majumder, Bruce Clark for a live comedy act in Vancouver.